Veteran theologian and Herald contributor John Barton unpicks the message of the paradox that is St Stephen's Day: when the liturgical theme jumps bafflingly from the birth of the Prince of Peace to the violent judicial murder of the first Christian martyr, and all still within the Christmas Octave: the eight-days-inclusive week that follows a major feast but which at Christmas runs to twelve.
Few people in Britain know that Boxing Day is kept by the Christian churches as the feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. But if they do know, it is not because they have a great familiarity with the church calendar. Many today do not even know, after all, what Christians commemorate at Easter, let alone on a day mainly set aside for turkey sandwiches and visits to the sales.
